Fort St. John, January 31, 2018 – A total of 129 long track speed skaters from across the country will be in action this weekend, February 2-4, at the Pomeroy Sport Centre (9324 – 96 Street) in Fort St. John, B.C., for Speed Skating Canada’s 2018 National Junior Long Track Championships and Canada Cup #3.

Among them, 90 junior skaters will aim for spots at the 2018 ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships to be held March 9-11 in Salt Lake City, U.S.A.

Some members of last year’s World Junior Championships Canadian Team will aim to get their spot back: Véronique Déry of Lévis, QC, Connor Howe of Canmore, AB, Tyson Langelaar of Winnipeg, MB, David La Rue of Saint-Lambert, QC, Béatrice Lamarche of Quebec City, QC, and Brooklyn McDougall of Calgary, AB.

At the 2017 World Junior Championships in Finland, Canada won a total of eight medals, including three individual medals won by Tyson Langelaar, two by Béatrice Lamarche and two by Graeme Fish. Langelaar won a fourth one in the Team Sprint event, a silver one, with David La Rue and Connor Howe.

Canada Cup competitions, which 39 athletes will take part in Fort St. John, are a series of events where athletes can earn points for each distance towards season-ending rankings, as well as a competition for senior and junior A, B, C2 athletes, this last category being dedicated to skaters born between July 1st, 2002, and June 30, 2003.

Many members of Speed Skating Canada’s National Development group will be in action including Sam Deckert of Winnipeg, MB, Christopher Fiola of Montreal, QC, Noémie Fiset of Quebec City, QC, Graeme Fish of Moose Jaw, SK, Jacob Graham of Dawson Creek, B.C., Carolina Hiller of Prince George, B.C., and Abigail Mccluskey of Calgary, AB, as well as NextGen status athletes Carolane Gingras of Quebec City, QC, Nicolas Hiller of Prince George, B.C., Lindsey Kent of Winnipeg, MB, Hayden Mayeur of Toronto, ON, and Jake Weidemann of Ottawa, ON.

First races of the 500m as well as the 1500m event will be held Friday, February 2. On the schedule for Saturday, is the first 1000m event, the women's 3000m and men’s 5000m. On Sunday, the second races of the 500m and 1000m events as well as the mass start events will close the competition.

Objective for the juniors: qualification to the World Championships in Salt Lake CityFollowing the Canadian Junior Long Track Championships, Speed Skating Canada will select four men and four women based on cumulative total of four distances (best 500m and 1000m, 1500m and women’s 3000m or men’s 5000m) to represent Canada at the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships in March 9-11 in Salt Lake City, U.S.A, as long as athletes meet ISU time standards.

In Salt Lake City, the skaters will take part in the following events: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, women’s 3000m, men’s 5000m, team pursuit, team sprint and mass start.

More info, including the full schedule and results, are available on Speed Skating Canada’s Website: www.speedskating.ca.

About Speed Skating CanadaSpeed Skating Canada (SSC) is the governing body for long track and short track speed skating in Canada. Founded in 1887, SSC is comprised of 13 provincial and territorial associations. Speed Skating Canada is committed to Challenge and Inspire Canada to Thrive through the power of Speed Skating. SSC recognizes and values its outstanding volunteers who give freely of their time and expertise. It also celebrates the 63 Olympic medals won by Canadian athletes since 1932, as well as the coaches, officials and other dedicated individuals who helped them on their journey. www.speedskating.ca